ed, her daughter would have deafened the neighborhood with her loud music. There had been constant complaints about the way she played t

the parallel concrete stairs, but she rather hit an empty beverage can and halted

s in a total mess. There was a great deal of odor wafting from the kitchen, and Emily

parent had to be careful with handling their wards because they could be unpredictable and revolt unnecessarily only because they feel they're at the age where they could b

or, she was greeted by the smoke that had filled the room, and the frustrating smell o

palm immediately. Then she looked for the r

n here, Aleth? Y

ly. "Mom, could you please

eak to me in tha

hink you can just come in h

it lightly with you for the loud music, but

his is not my house as well. And I was only

Aleth? Why would you ch

s. And I'm old enough to put a cigarette on

ing eligible to smoke and drink? I'd like to think t

the right to mention him when you chose to roam arou

erent ways. And whether Alethia believed her or not, she loved her husband d

he was your father. I loved

nding at her face. "Then the difference here is that I st

she could move on was to keep telling herself that he was gone and would never come back to them, and to do that, she had to keep

is our reality now, and we

ad to come to terms with the present and focus on the future rather than constantly dragging he

r but she pushed it away and walked back to the bed.

side her. Alethia stood up an

You must be tired from your long

for her liking, but she feared she might rais

leave after I cl

s, I'll take

" She sounded positive, but

om. Leave

more than Emily wanted to stay. She rose and traipsed ou

how she was supposed to handle her child at her worst. They were what was left of their family now. She wished she could he

ed from pushing. That wasn't the right time for furthering any

She flared. She could feel her head burning through the heat of untamed anger as if all she had restrained were now about to burst. She dashed

me down with the motive of joining her, but when she loo

s my pack of

ueezing her brows

self a bit. "Where is my pack of

king about? Were you going to smok

hing. That was you barging into

well her height, but she shouldn't make the

You will speak to

me what I a

did. I will never give it back. I won't sit around whi

Dad's death caused you any pain. We both know you never treated him the way he

that doesn't mean I didn't love him. That's some

eep well at night," Alethia said and turned towards th

't get my pack of cigarettes by then." With that, she hurried up the stairs and

but she raised her head to keep them at bay. She wasn't going to shed any more tears, she thought with determination. But

was a relative quietness in her room. At one point Emily was conflicted about whether to go to he

ight. Alethia had threatened to bu

*

es before going to work. She runs an advertising agency, and although it was average, it was a company she built

ethia to help her out with some chores wasn't an option. Maybe it was time to bring Ethan in. Other than his comp

couldn't have adhered to the threat she made because she fell asleep earlier than she could stay awake. By the time she felt a to

at had gone down the other day. But she remembered her bickering with her mother, and she knew to look for water. There was a half drink of bottled water on the b

ous that she'd tossed and turned a lot in her sleep, but she couldn't remember havi

worms in her stomach were protesting to feed on her intestines if he refused to feed them

arranged slices of bread in a dish. It must be for her, she thought. But she was a bit relu

when she said "Hi, love..." wh

aid the other day was under the influence of alcohol. She couldn't even remember why she had smoked or how it tasted. She'd hated the smell fr

breakfast." Emily said, r

he sat and made an attempt to start eating. But once her mom came around to sit opp

Emily int

your night? I

ia no

good t

while Emily was looking for the right time to say what was on her mind. Once she was sure that Alethia ha

can we

om the other day, but Alethia hadn't come to terms with how to apologize. She swal

he last of the discomfort in her th

kay now?"

d she knew she was wrong to have addressed her mother the way she d

inging

s, and while this person mattered more than discussing wha

who's

e could feel a shiver within her, but she couldn

gs will be easier on us if we hav

house boy the

and sat properly. "No, lo

before looking at her

"Well, he's more

d. "You mean yo

She avoided looking straight at her d

ose with a scoff and sat down. Then she rose again an

ve me a stepfather? Are you p

hear m

her mother for a moment. That Emily wasn't denying i

lse in this house. The chores are taking a toll

se boy. A fucki

irl..." Emil

onal companion,

have sex with outside of these walls. Bu

oing to be on your terms, my dear. I'm merely

's no way you're going to bring a man

e, young

is so unbelievable. It's not eve

want from me? I've given you everything since your

et to replac

ed. But I'm allowed to seek

yours isn't homeless. You both can have as many rounds

ch your tone, girl. I won

be a whore, it won't be in this--" Alethia failed to complete the sentence

e could ever lay a hand on her daughter, but she'd sl

l grabbing the left side of her face. The shock seemed to have shook her more than the slap,

down a few tears. She was

attempts to make things right

s. Emily dropped her bag immediately and ran after her. But the door had slamm

" she said as she b

few of her clothes, waiting for her mom to lea